Attacks kill 3 in Iraq’s Kirkuk

By Hussein Al-Amir

BAGHDAD (AA) – Three people were killed and 13 others injured in attacks in Iraq’s northern Kirkuk province on Monday, according to a local police officer.

Daesh militants opened fire on a security checkpoint manned by members of al-Hashd al-Ashaairi – a pro-government Sunni militia -- in Bayji district, 25 km southwest of Kirkuk city, Capt. Hamid al-Obeidi, said.

“Three Sunni fighters were injured in the attack,” al-Obeidi told Anadolu Agency.

As medics rushed to the scene to help the injured, a bomb exploded, killing two people and injuring ten others, he said.

In a separate incident, al-Obeidi said a civilian was shot dead by suspected Daesh militants in Al-Askari district, southeast of Kirkuk.

Last December, officials in Baghdad declared that the Daesh terrorist group's military presence in Iraq had been all but dismantled after a three-year war.

However, from time to time, Iraqi officials announce operations against Daesh-affiliated "sleeper cells" in certain parts of the country.